Things in Venice, California (4)
Venice can also be quite unexpected. A walk along the ocean walk and this is what I found for you ... painters, musicians, shops, all with a very own style. Only in Venice!
Photos du Jour - Wine Tasting
I spent two mornings last week doing blind tastings to help choose wines for le Chai in Homps. It was really interesting! Especially trying to describe the flavors and my general impression of each wine in French. I should have done some studying beforehand.
At each tasting there were about 10 of us, split into pairs, tasting 12 to 13 wines each. The wines were grouped by price and type - vin de pays, AOC Minervois or AOC Minervois la Livinière.
One morning I tasted 12 Minervois white wines and the next morning I tasted 13 AOC Minervois reds priced between €5-7.
I learned a lot.
Like teeth brushing just before wine tasting is counterproductive. Good thing there was some French bread to help clean my palate!
A bit of French wine tasting terminology:
expressif
boisé
fruité
très vanillé
notes de miel
bien équilibré
léger mais très agréable
encore bien jeune mais déjà agréable
arômes de fruits
exubérant
élégant
harmonieuse
complexe
souple
rond
fermé
Photo du Jour - Dazzling
A burst of color where the vineyards meet the garrigue.
This was taken a couple of days ago. I just stepped outside to find little flakes of snow falling.
What Dish Says "France" to You?
The other day I asked un p'tit question on Twitter: If you had to choose just one dish that said "France" to you, what would it be?
The responses came in fast and furious. Many had exactly one dish in mind and others couldn't quite decide so suggested a few favorites. Most were very passionate about their idea of the quintessential French dish.
The most popular were:
Foie gras with 6 votes
Coq au Vin with 7 votes
Boeuf Bourguignon and Cassoulet with 8 votes
Confit de Canard with 9 votes
Even though it isn't a dish per se, the baguette was mentioned a couple of times, as was pain au chocolat. Not a single mention of French cheese however!
bcinfrance Foie gras, no doubt about it.
sheriffof0 Beef Bourgignon w/ Dauphinoise! Mmmmmmm.....
spacedlawyer Blanquette de veau à l'ancienne. Although Boeuf bourguignon might be more widely known outside France.
cutestmidget for me it's definitely confit de canard. or foie gras :)
jpack Bouef Bourguignon!
hamishwm coq au vin, foie gras, steak au poivre
frenchbabe09 Cassoulet !! Ca me manque :)
katethyme Savory dish that screams France? My favorite: Pan-Seared Foie Gras - with Brioche toast and Sauterne
Autrement Confit canard et pommes de terre sarladaises!
lucullian foie gras and sauterne
food_writer coq au vin!
home_gourmets For me, it's Ratatouille (savoury) & (sweet) Tarte Tatin, s'il vous plaît!
lifesafeast Oooh Blanquette de veau? Daube de beouf au carottes?
cowgirlchef Duck confit w/ a side of gratin Dauphinois
LostNCheeseland boeuf bourguignon!
LostNCheeseland keeping it simple, the quiche! (I know I said beef bourguignon yesterday, but this is über French too)
MyMelange So many to choose...Coq au Vin, Moules for dishes. Croque Monsieur for cafe food.
Foodbridge pain au chocolat but I guess that is not a dish -what about coq au vin
foodiechick tarte tatin, pomme anna
melrovens Cassoulet
k_sam Salad nicoise? Quiche? Steak frites?
k_sam C says coq au vin
VinsdeBourgogne Jambon beurre sandwich
lyonalacarte Blanquette de Veau
annief1 Crepes made with buckwheat ....from Breton...!
danamac escargot
nimble_wit Henri IV's poule au pot, sans doute
feteafete duck confit!
lezzles Confit de canard avec des pommes sarladaises.
brassfrog Not a "dish" but it would have to be baguettes; you can't find any here that are half as good.
peterwoodcock for me it would have to be 'bavette frites' - as served at Chez Felix in Carcassonne of course
foodwinediarist Rillettes de porc!
dinkypen - crêpes!!!
cookitaly Jambon Persillé - pot au feu - paté du canard - 3 dishes I know!
FifiFlowers Bifteck et pommes frites!
jemangepdx coq au vin!
karinakazue crème brûlée ever!!!
DesignBabylon Cassoulet? Confit de Canard? Macarons? Galette de Rois? Now my pathetic excuse for a dinner really won't cut it
AntoniaTable casoulet bouillabaise coq au vin
nativefoodwine Je pense Cassoulet
marieloua Confit de canard :-)
parisiensalon Tie between boeuf bourguignon and croque monsieur. Or confit de canard. Or a pot au feu. Damn. Now I'm starving.
parisiensalon Thanks to @louloufrance, I am now craving duck confit, but have no hope of having any tonight. Argh!
bellavventura Mais 'les crepes' evidament!
misterrios When we were in Paris, my girlfriend ordered the Oeufs a la Neige, and it is one of the defining food moments of the trip.
ap269 that would be baguette
Stefaniya Cassoulet! Soupe a l'oignon, bouillabaisse, magret de canard a l'orange, tournedos Rossini, croque monsieur... frites...
foodiechick Abbreviated RT @Stefaniya: @louloufrance: Frites!
letastingroom Cassoulet springs to mind of course, but moules as well and from our perspective in the Loire, rillettes.
leperchoir Difficult question - agree with @letastingroom about Cassoulet & moules but can't overlook Confit de canard and Foie gras !!
GastroGirls Coq au Vin or Boeuf Bourguignon. Or Bouillabaise.
aaronmalys Thanks! --> Crème brûlée
TheGringoChapin boeuf bourgignon!
foodloverkathy Savory dish that says #France is Beef Burgundy (couldn't spell it in French)
foodloverkathy Crouquembouche is a sweet dish that is #France
brockhallfarm beautiful crusty baguette with a great Beurre d'Issigny
brockhallfarm @food_writer @louloufrance yes, my suggestion was hardly a 'dish' but conjures up images of picnics en plein air,with or without du tracteur
brockhallfarm forgot to say, whether at the top of Montmartre or not, onion soup
winosandfoodies tarte tartine
winosandfoodies It's difficult to pick just one 'cos all are quite regional.
ParisMB i'm afraid dishes don't say "france" to me, they say "savoie", "bourgogne", "sud ouest" and many other lovely things :)
Then there was the one with the sense of humor.
cognacproperty Satellite??? (I'm no fan of regular French TV but Canal+ is fab)
(get it? - which "dish"?) ha ha ha...
What do you think? If you had to choose just one dish that said "France" to you, what would it be?
Oh yeah, I forgot to add my two cents:
@louloufrance Choosing 1 dish is difficult. I would say Coq au Vin (and Cassoulet and Sole Meunière and Steak Frites- I said choosing just 1 was hard!)
The responses came in fast and furious. Many had exactly one dish in mind and others couldn't quite decide so suggested a few favorites. Most were very passionate about their idea of the quintessential French dish.
The most popular were:
Foie gras with 6 votes
Coq au Vin with 7 votes
Boeuf Bourguignon and Cassoulet with 8 votes
Confit de Canard with 9 votes
Even though it isn't a dish per se, the baguette was mentioned a couple of times, as was pain au chocolat. Not a single mention of French cheese however!
bcinfrance Foie gras, no doubt about it.
sheriffof0 Beef Bourgignon w/ Dauphinoise! Mmmmmmm.....
spacedlawyer Blanquette de veau à l'ancienne. Although Boeuf bourguignon might be more widely known outside France.
cutestmidget for me it's definitely confit de canard. or foie gras :)
jpack Bouef Bourguignon!
hamishwm coq au vin, foie gras, steak au poivre
frenchbabe09 Cassoulet !! Ca me manque :)
katethyme Savory dish that screams France? My favorite: Pan-Seared Foie Gras - with Brioche toast and Sauterne
Autrement Confit canard et pommes de terre sarladaises!
lucullian foie gras and sauterne
food_writer coq au vin!
home_gourmets For me, it's Ratatouille (savoury) & (sweet) Tarte Tatin, s'il vous plaît!
lifesafeast Oooh Blanquette de veau? Daube de beouf au carottes?
cowgirlchef Duck confit w/ a side of gratin Dauphinois
LostNCheeseland boeuf bourguignon!
LostNCheeseland keeping it simple, the quiche! (I know I said beef bourguignon yesterday, but this is über French too)
MyMelange So many to choose...Coq au Vin, Moules for dishes. Croque Monsieur for cafe food.
Foodbridge pain au chocolat but I guess that is not a dish -what about coq au vin
foodiechick tarte tatin, pomme anna
melrovens Cassoulet
k_sam Salad nicoise? Quiche? Steak frites?
k_sam C says coq au vin
VinsdeBourgogne Jambon beurre sandwich
lyonalacarte Blanquette de Veau
annief1 Crepes made with buckwheat ....from Breton...!
danamac escargot
nimble_wit Henri IV's poule au pot, sans doute
feteafete duck confit!
lezzles Confit de canard avec des pommes sarladaises.
brassfrog Not a "dish" but it would have to be baguettes; you can't find any here that are half as good.
peterwoodcock for me it would have to be 'bavette frites' - as served at Chez Felix in Carcassonne of course
foodwinediarist Rillettes de porc!
dinkypen - crêpes!!!
cookitaly Jambon Persillé - pot au feu - paté du canard - 3 dishes I know!
FifiFlowers Bifteck et pommes frites!
jemangepdx coq au vin!
karinakazue crème brûlée ever!!!
DesignBabylon Cassoulet? Confit de Canard? Macarons? Galette de Rois? Now my pathetic excuse for a dinner really won't cut it
AntoniaTable casoulet bouillabaise coq au vin
nativefoodwine Je pense Cassoulet
marieloua Confit de canard :-)
parisiensalon Tie between boeuf bourguignon and croque monsieur. Or confit de canard. Or a pot au feu. Damn. Now I'm starving.
parisiensalon Thanks to @louloufrance, I am now craving duck confit, but have no hope of having any tonight. Argh!
bellavventura Mais 'les crepes' evidament!
misterrios When we were in Paris, my girlfriend ordered the Oeufs a la Neige, and it is one of the defining food moments of the trip.
ap269 that would be baguette
Stefaniya Cassoulet! Soupe a l'oignon, bouillabaisse, magret de canard a l'orange, tournedos Rossini, croque monsieur... frites...
foodiechick Abbreviated RT @Stefaniya: @louloufrance: Frites!
letastingroom Cassoulet springs to mind of course, but moules as well and from our perspective in the Loire, rillettes.
leperchoir Difficult question - agree with @letastingroom about Cassoulet & moules but can't overlook Confit de canard and Foie gras !!
GastroGirls Coq au Vin or Boeuf Bourguignon. Or Bouillabaise.
aaronmalys Thanks! --> Crème brûlée
TheGringoChapin boeuf bourgignon!
foodloverkathy Savory dish that says #France is Beef Burgundy (couldn't spell it in French)
foodloverkathy Crouquembouche is a sweet dish that is #France
brockhallfarm beautiful crusty baguette with a great Beurre d'Issigny
brockhallfarm @food_writer @louloufrance yes, my suggestion was hardly a 'dish' but conjures up images of picnics en plein air,with or without du tracteur
brockhallfarm forgot to say, whether at the top of Montmartre or not, onion soup
winosandfoodies tarte tartine
winosandfoodies It's difficult to pick just one 'cos all are quite regional.
ParisMB i'm afraid dishes don't say "france" to me, they say "savoie", "bourgogne", "sud ouest" and many other lovely things :)
Then there was the one with the sense of humor.
cognacproperty Satellite??? (I'm no fan of regular French TV but Canal+ is fab)
(get it? - which "dish"?) ha ha ha...
What do you think? If you had to choose just one dish that said "France" to you, what would it be?
Oh yeah, I forgot to add my two cents:
@louloufrance Choosing 1 dish is difficult. I would say Coq au Vin (and Cassoulet and Sole Meunière and Steak Frites- I said choosing just 1 was hard!)
Photo du Jour - Climbing
There are always surprising scenes like this to discover on walks around the village.
Photo du Jour - Eye Catching
Funny when you drive by something every so often and barely notice it, then one day it seems to shout, "look at me!"
Blanquette de Veau
Let me begin this post by saying that I'm not a huge fan of veal. I just feel guilty about eating it.
And I'm not even going to touch the whole "politics of veal" subject...which these days seem to have been replaced by the politics of foie gras. Don't people care about the baby cows anymore?
Husband adores veal. He waxes lyrical about the Veal Milanese he used to enjoy in Italian restaurants in New York, so on the rare occasion that we go out to lunch and veal is on the menu, he always orders it.
Recently, I had moment of weakness.
Living in France changes the way you look at meat. Wild boar, frogs, gizzards, glands, feet, brains, hare, snails...all of it is celebrated and enjoyed with reckless abandon.
I also find that while waiting patiently in line at the butchers and watching what every one else is buying can be incredibly inspiring. I stand there and scroll through recipes in my head, imagining savory pots of bubbling Coq au Vin, rich Boeuf Bourguignon, rustic Cassoulet, garlic studded Gigot d'agneau...
So I'm at the butcher's one day and the price of nice looking, healthy-sized chunks of blanquette de veau was incredibly reasonable. I stared at them and stared at them, debating the purchase.
The line was long so I had plenty of time to argue with myself.
In the end I just gave in and bought a kilo.
And finally made Blanquette de Veau.
This recipe is my adaptation of Dilled Blanquette de Veau from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.
Dill is one of the few herbs that I absolutely cannot stand the taste of, but I liked the look of the recipes, so I 86'd the dill and added bay leaves and fresh thyme. And a bit of minced parsley sprinkled over at the end.
Blanquette de Veau
serves 6
Have to admit that even though I loved this dish -really loved it - I've yet to buy veal again. Stupid guilt.
.
And I'm not even going to touch the whole "politics of veal" subject...which these days seem to have been replaced by the politics of foie gras. Don't people care about the baby cows anymore?
Husband adores veal. He waxes lyrical about the Veal Milanese he used to enjoy in Italian restaurants in New York, so on the rare occasion that we go out to lunch and veal is on the menu, he always orders it.
Recently, I had moment of weakness.
Living in France changes the way you look at meat. Wild boar, frogs, gizzards, glands, feet, brains, hare, snails...all of it is celebrated and enjoyed with reckless abandon.
I also find that while waiting patiently in line at the butchers and watching what every one else is buying can be incredibly inspiring. I stand there and scroll through recipes in my head, imagining savory pots of bubbling Coq au Vin, rich Boeuf Bourguignon, rustic Cassoulet, garlic studded Gigot d'agneau...
So I'm at the butcher's one day and the price of nice looking, healthy-sized chunks of blanquette de veau was incredibly reasonable. I stared at them and stared at them, debating the purchase.
The line was long so I had plenty of time to argue with myself.
In the end I just gave in and bought a kilo.
And finally made Blanquette de Veau.
This recipe is my adaptation of Dilled Blanquette de Veau from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.
Dill is one of the few herbs that I absolutely cannot stand the taste of, but I liked the look of the recipes, so I 86'd the dill and added bay leaves and fresh thyme. And a bit of minced parsley sprinkled over at the end.
Blanquette de Veau
serves 6
- 12 tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 3 pounds boneless veal, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 scant teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 fresh sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups diagonally sliced peeled carrots (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
- 3 cups coarsely chopped onions
- 3 to 4 cups chicken stock
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy flameproof casserole or Dutch oven. Add the veal and cook over medium-low heat, turning frequently, until opaque but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir 3 tablespoons of the flour together with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the veal. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. The flour and veal should not brown.
- Add the carrots, onions, thyme, bay leaves and enough stock to just cover the meat and vegetables. Raise the heat to medium and bring just to a boil. Then cover the casserole, transfer it to the oven, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and pour the stew through a strainer placed over a bowl. Reserve the solids and liquid separately, discarding the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
- Return the casserole to medium heat, and melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in it. Sprinkle in the remaining 5 tablespoons flour, and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the reserved cooking liquid slowly into the butter and flour mixture, and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the cream and additional salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Return the veal and vegetables to the casserole, and simmer to heat through, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a deep serving dish, sprinkle with the minced parsley and serve at once.
Have to admit that even though I loved this dish -really loved it - I've yet to buy veal again. Stupid guilt.
.
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